7.141: Was Paul the real founder of Christianity?

Examine Paul’s influence on Christianity, theology, community, and the gospel with guest Matt Skinner.

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Join the Enter the Bible podcast with hosts Katie Langston and Kathryn Schifferdecker as they sit down with Luther Seminary Professor of New Testament Matthew L. Skinner to tackle the question: Was Paul the real founder of Christianity?

Explore how Paul’s writings shaped the early church, his focus on the cross and resurrection, and his revolutionary views on community, gender, and the gospel. Discover the cosmic scope of his theology and how Jesus profoundly influenced his mission. This conversation will challenge your perspective and deepen your understanding of Paul’s role in Christianity.

Original question submitted:

“How can we reconcile the differences between Jesus’ teachings and Paul’s theology, considering that Paul often focuses on different aspects of Jesus’ message?”

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Matthew L. Skinner

Matthew Skinner joined Luther Seminary’s faculty in 2002, having earned his Ph.D. in biblical studies from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he had previously completed his M.Div. and served as a teaching fellow and visiting lecturer. Much of Skinner’s published work focuses on the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the cultural realities displayed in these writings, and their ongoing theological relevance. He is the author of Acts: Catching Up with the Spirit, Intrusive God, Disruptive Gospel: Encountering the Divine in the Book of Acts, and the three-volume A Companion to the New Testament. He co-hosts Sermon Brainwave, a popular weekly podcast that offers assistance to preachers as they interpret biblical texts to prepare their sermons and is ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

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Kathryn M. Schifferdecker

Kathryn M Schifferdecker came to Luther Seminary as an assistant professor of Old Testament in 2006. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2001, Schifferdecker was associate pastor for five years at Trinity Lutheran Church, Arkdale, Wisc., before coming to Luther. Schifferdecker is a frequent contributor to workingpreacher.org, Word & World and the author of Out of the Whirlwind: Creation Theology in the Book of Job (Harvard University Press, 2008). She is currently writing a commentary on the book of Esther.

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Katie Langston

Katie Langston is a doubter by nature and a believer by grace. She grew up Mormon in a small Utah town and still isn't sure she fits in anywhere sophisticated enough to have a Target. She's the author of Sealed: An Unexpected Journey into the Heart of Grace, an acclaimed spiritual memoir about her conversion to orthodox Christianity. Katie works as the director of digital strategy for Luther Seminary's innovation team, where she oversees digital projects aimed at cultivating vibrant Christian spirituality in a post-modern, post-Christian cultural context.

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